Indian bids for fighter planes begin

Choosing the Rafale will signify for India further cementing defense ties with France. Source: AP

India has begun the commercial bids for the proposed agreement to buy 126 medium multi-role fighter aircraft for the IAF

On November 5, India
opened the commercial bids for the proposed agreement to buy 126 medium multi-role
fighter aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), but didn’t announce
the lowest vendor on unit costs.

There were initially
six vendors – two of them American, Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., one
Russian RSK MiG aircraft, Saab AB of Sweden, Dassault Aviation SA of France, and
European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS), a consortium of European
companies.

This April the
Ministry of Defense shortlisted two aircrafts – Dassault Rafale of France and
EADS’ Eurofighter Typhoon proposed jointly by Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK.

The lowest bidder will be determined
after examining life-cycle costs for both vendors, which is likely to happen in
six-eight weeks. After this step contract
negotiations will begin.

Defense ministry spokesperson Sitanshu
Kar said that with India’s opening of bids the process for selecting the lowest
bidder had started. Mr. Kar remarked that during the meeting, both vendors were
informed on the other’s cost per unit but he refused to give the figures, referring
confidentiality clauses.

The benchmarking –
procedure of determining the reasonable cost range of purchase – had been
completed in October. However, according to the officials, the final cost of
acquisition could be much higher than the originally expected cost of Rs 42,000
crore.

Both machines displayed
their capacities after the enforcement of an air embargo over Libya by the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization having bombed targets and resources that
belonged to the country’s former ruler Moammar Gadhafi.

Choosing the Rafale will signify for
India further cementing defense ties with France. India already possesses the
French Mirage 2000 aircraft in its air force inventory.

In case India opts for the Eurofighter
Typhoon, it will be strengthening its defense ties with several European
countries instead of one. But one of potential disadvantages of working with
the consortium is that it delivers parts, components or sub-systems from more
than 100 countries. And a delay by any one or more could have an impact on the
supply of critical spares, which could bring to a halt the whole fleet.

Deba Mohanty, an
analyst with Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, believes that due to the
fact that both machines are European-manufactured there shouldn’t be such acute
strategic implications as in cases of Russian-American competition. In the
opinion of the expert, the most important consideration will be the contentment
of the ultimate consumer – the Indian Air Force.

Former IAF chief Fali
H. Major doesn’t support the point of view that the MMRCA purchase should be called off for the
fifth-generation joint strike fighter F-35, offered by the US to India.

Mr. Major says there
already is an agreement for the FGFA programme with Russia, and the two fighter
jets shouldn’t be compared.

The process of joint development of a
fifth-generation fighter aircraft with Russia is underway. According to Air
Chief Marshall N.A.K. Browne, IAF is likely to induct 214 such aircraft
beginning 2017.